


a very (in)effective seduction

by dduucckk



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Secret Relationship, idk ill add some more tags eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27825928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dduucckk/pseuds/dduucckk
Summary: written for @girlwithacrown and @kidovna's blissember prompts!In which Sirius decides that it's time to seduce Moony. Yes, he has a list
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 38
Kudos: 121
Collections: Blissember 2020





	1. day -1 (or maybe day 0??)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [girlwithacrown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlwithacrown/gifts).



> heyyyyyyyy so. a couple days ago I was feeling very shitty and decided I didnt want to post this fic in its entirety. today I am feeling less shitty and have decided that even if im not entirely happy with it, it's still cute and fluffy!! and not everything has to be my best work. and also I like what I have written and will do my best to actually finish it <3 hope yall enjoy!! im posting the first two chapters today, but after that its gonna be one chapter every second day, and each one is inspired by one of fae's marvellous prompts :)

“I’m bi.”

Those were the two words that had changed Sirius’s life. James thought that Sirius was being a bit dramatic, especially when one considered the fact that Remus had said those words barely an hour ago. But Sirius insisted that he was a changed man now that there was a chance that his pining wasn’t as one-sided as he’d thought.

“Pads, you can’t _seduce_ Remus! What if he doesn’t want to be seduced?”

“I’ll do it anyway!”

“Sirius––”

“Watch and learn Prongs, watch and learn.”

~~~

“What’cha got there, Pads?” Remus leaned over from his spot on the sofa to rest his chin on top of Sirius’s head. Sirius, who was sitting on the floor and scribbling furiously on a scrap of parchment, threw his arm over it, nearly spilling the ink bottle in the process.

“Er, nothing. Just some Christmas present ideas!”

Remus exhaled a laugh through his nose. “Are they _my_ presents? Is that why I can’t see them?”

“Yeah!” Sirius took the opportunity and ran with it. “And if you see it, Moony, I’ll have to start all over and your present won’t be nearly as good.”

Remus laughed into Sirius’s hair, sending a shiver down Sirius’s spine. “Alright then, Padfoot, I won’t look.” He pressed a hand into Sirius’s shoulder to push himself back into his original position, then messed up Sirius’s hair, earning a yelp and a smack to his hand. Sirius jabbed at Remus’s legs, but Remus’s position on the couch gave him more leverage, and he kicked in Sirius’s general direction until Sirius was forced to back off.

“I’ll get you back for this, Lupin.”

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t, Black.”

Sirius’s grin was much bigger than the interaction had warranted as he turned back to his parchment.

~~~

“So? What do you think? Will it work?”

“Sirius, I’m a little confused about what this is.” James frowned at the parchment in his hand. Peter peered over his shoulder, scanning the list. Sirius sighed.

“They’re date ideas!”

“Oh.”

Sirius crossed his arms and glared at James. “What does “oh” mean?”

“Well, I mean, what do you mean by “nostalgia”? What kind of a date idea is that?”

“A good one, thank you very much.”

“Not really.”

“How’s Lily doing these days?”

It was James’s turn to glare, and Sirius took the opportunity to snatch the paper out of his hand. “I’ll do such a good job seducing Remus, you’ll be begging for my advice with Lily.”

“Sure, whatever.”

~~~

In the common room, Remus was fast asleep on the couch, his book on his chest, and Sirius was sure he had never seen anything more beautiful.

“Moony,” he whispered, “Moony, wake up.”

Remus’s eyes fluttered open, and he glared at Sirius sleepily. “Why?”

“I don’t want you sleeping on the couch again. Remember how sore you were last time?”

“Mm.” Remus closed his eyes again. Sirius poked his shoulder. Remus didn’t react. Sirius picked up the book and put it on the table. He sat down on the sliver of couch not taken up by Remus, and poked him again.

“Pads,” Remus groaned, “just let me _sleep_.”

“That is what I’m trying to do.”

“Well, you’re doing a shit job.”

“That’s because I want you to sleep in your bed.”

“Mmmm I don’t wanna do that.”

“Why?”

“Spilled some ink.” Remus paused. “Spilled a lot of ink.”

“Why?”

“Was frustrated with an essay. Now my bed’s all inky so I’m sleeping here.”

“No you’re not.”

Remus cracked an eye open. “Where else am I gonna sleep?”

“My bed.” The words left Sirius’s mouth almost without his permission. Remus’s eyes flew open, and he looked more awake than he had throughout the whole conversation.

“Really?”

“Yeah, of course.” Sirius poked Remus in the shoulder again. “Come on, Moony. Let's get to bed.”

Remus smiled, and shuffled sleepily up the stairs and collapsed into Sirius’s bed. Sirius crawled in next to him, and pulled the covers over them. Remus was already face down in the pillows, his snores only slightly muffled, and Sirius curled up as close to him as possible before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.


	2. day 1––hot chocolate

“Moony, sweet Moony, how are you on this fine evening?”

Remus looked up from his essay and glared at Sirius. Sirius looked back down at his own nearly finished essay, then at Remus’s. It was barely three lines long.

“Do you need some help?”

“No, Sirius, I’m _fine_.” Remus’s tone indicated that he was very much not fine, but Sirius decided that maybe it wasn’t the best time to push it. As quietly as possible, he stood and left the room.

~~~

Remus pushed his hands through his hair and groaned. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to cry over an _essay_ , of all things. He wished he hadn’t been such a dick to Sirius earlier, but that thought only brought him closer to tears, so he took a deep breath and tried not to think about it. He leaned over and pressed his forehead against the table. On his lap, his fingers twisted together and his nails dug into the backs of his hands. He breathed in deeply, and this time smelled––chocolate?

Looking up, Remus saw Sirius standing in front of him, a cup of hot chocolate in one hand and a plate of sugar cookies in the other. He put them down in front of Remus.

“These will make you feel better, I promise,” he said. Remus reached for the hot chocolate, but Sirius suddenly snached it out of his grasp.

“How is it supposed to make me feel better if I can’t drink it?”

Sirius grinned. “You’re smiling,” he singsonged, and Remus rolled his eyes. “But,” Sirius said, “I was just going to add a finishing touch, and then you can have it, I promise.”

Remus squinted at him. “What’s the finishing touch?”

Sirius reached into his back pocket and pulled out a candy cane. Remus wondered why he had put it in his back pocket in the first place. Then he decided that thinking about Sirius’s back pocket and, incidentally, his arse, was not in Remus’s best interest. So he focused back in on the candy cane.

“You’re not going to put that in the hot chocolate, are you?”

“Of course I am, Moony, it’s _December_! Christmastime! You need candy canes in your hot chocolate in December!”

“Nope,” Remus shook his head vigorously and pulled the mug over to his side of the table. Some of the hot chocolate sloshed over the sides. “I absolutely do _not_ need a candy cane in my hot chocolate.”

“Fine,” Sirius said, “I suppose I’ll have to eat it myself.”

Remus gave him a flat look. “Was that your plan all along?”

“Maybe.” Sirius shrugged and held back a grin. Remus rolled his eyes. He took a sip of the hot chocolate, then picked up a cookie.

“Pads?”

“Mhm?” Sirius was busily sucking on the candy cane, and Remus tried not to fixate too much on it.

“Why did you get Christmas cookies?”

“Moony,” Sirius said solemnly, “Christmas cookies have been proven to cheer up even the most miserable soul.”

“Really?”

“Yup! And so does help from a handsome best friend! What’s up with your essay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen candy canes are the food of the gods, _especially_ in hot chocolate I dont make the rules I just enforce them 😌


	3. day 2 –– pets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall I briefly proofread this chapter and it made me very happy I hope it does the same for you <3

The hot chocolate and homework help hadn’t been part of Sirius’s seduction plan, but he thought it had gone rather well despite the improvisation. James and Peter didn’t disagree, exactly, but they were still firmly in the “just tell him how you feel” camp. So Sirius didn’t share his next plan with them. Instead, he shared it with Marlene.

Marlene was the kind of person who would do anything as long as the outcome would be funny, and Sirius was counting on that particular quality for the official Stage One of his plan. Although, he thought, maybe he should change it to Stage Two, if he wanted to consider the hot chocolate Stage One.

When he told Marlene what he wanted to do, she looked both skeptical and deeply amused, and Sirius took that as a good sign. Turns out, he was right. Marlene agreed to help, saying that “even if this goes south, it’ll be the best thing that’s happened since Lily accidentally started that food fight.” Sirius had it on good authority that the food fight had only been partially accidental, but he chose not to disclose that information. It wasn’t relevant to the situation at hand.

Food fight discussions aside, Marlene proved very helpful in the execution of Sirius’s plan. All he needed, really, was someone who would cheer him on and keep an eye out for teachers as he snuck the surprise back up to the dorms, and Marlene was more than happy to do those, so long as he told her why, exactly, he was doing it and what, exactly, the surprise was.

So, that Sunday, he snuck out of the castle. Normally, when Sirius snuck out of the castle, he was a) accompanied by a fellow Marauder and b) going to Hogsmeade. That day, he was alone, and he was on his way to Diagon Alley.

Technically, he was going to Hogsmeade, he told himself as he walked through the passage. He told himself this because that’s what he had told his friends, and he hated lying to his friends. Technically, he _was_ going to Hogsmeade, because he had to go there in order to apparate to the Leaky Cauldron, and he had to apparate to the Leaky cauldron in order to go to Diagon Alley, and he had to go to Diagon Alley in order to get the surprise.

He made it there and back without incident, and the second he emerged from the tunnel, Marlene was upon him, demanding to see what he had bought. Glancing around furtively to make sure no one saw, Sirius let her have a quick peek inside the large cardboard box he was carrying.

Marlene’s eyes went big, and she covered her mouth as she let out a small squeal. “Sirius! That’s the cutest thing ever! He’s gonna love it!”

“You think?” Sirius asked. “I mean, I’m pretty sure, but…” He shrugged. Marlene nodded.

“Absolutely, now _go_!” She gave him a shove, and Sirius stumbled forward slightly, laughing.

“Alright, alright, I’m on my way. Thank you,” he added, and Marlene waved it away.

“Don’t thank me, just tell me the exact look on his face when he sees it.”

Sirius saluted and headed off down the hallway toward Gryffindor tower.

~~~

The one thing Remus had not been expecting that day was to see Regulus Black standing outside of the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, but he was so exhausted that he didn’t have the energy to question it. Remus simply ignored him, or would have if Regulus hadn’t reached out and tugged sharply on his sleeve.

Remus turned to look at him, but didn’t trust himself to say anything. He’d been doing homework all day, the full moon was later that week, and in his current state, there was a high chance that he would snap at Regulus before Regulus had done anything worth snapping about.

“Where’s Sirius?” Regulus asked.

Remus paused for a moment, debating whether this was a snappable offense. “In Hogsmeade,” he said as calmly as possible. Simply asking after one’s brother, no matter how estranged, was not, after all, inherently awful.

“Do you know when he’ll be back?”

Remus shook his head. “He didn’t say.”

“Okay.” Regulus did an admirable job of hiding his disappointment, but Remus was so used to reading the slightest changes in Sirius’s moods that he noticed instantly.

“Why are you looking for him?”

“I wanted to talk to him. _Actually_ talk, not just curse each other. I, er. I wanted to apologize.”

Remus blinked. “Oh. Well. That’s. Good, I suppose?”

Regulus smiled slightly, and Remus did possibly the most awkward thing he could have done and patted Regulus on the shoulder. “Good luck, I suppose. He does miss you.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Doesn’t like to show it, but he does. Maybe come back another time? I’m sure you can get him to talk to you.”

Regulus’s smile widened. It almost looked like Sirius’s. “That’s good to know, I––thank you, Remus.”

“No problem.” Remus smiled back, glad he hadn’t somehow fucked this up. With one last grateful smile, Regulus turned and walked back down the stairs, presumably on his way to the Slytherin dorms. Remus heaved a sigh of relief and went right up to his bed to take a nap. He deserved it.

Unfortunately for Remus’s nap, Sirius bounded up the stairs barely five minutes later and threw open the door to their dorm. Remus, who was already burrowed under his blanket with his face pressed into his pillow, managed a muffled growl that did not deter Sirius in the slightest. He put the box down on his bed, making sure it was securely in place, then sat cross legged at the end of Remus’s bed, took a guess at where his feet were, and poked. He had guessed right, apparently, because Remus growled again and kicked in Sirius’s direction. Sirius, not wanting to sustain an injury, changed tactics. He stretched out next to Remus on the bed, _maybe_ just a tad on top of him, pulled the blanket down to reveal the curls on the top of Remus’s head, and whispered, “I have a surprise for you.”

The head turned, the curls brushing against Sirius’s face, and a pair of sleepy brown eyes peered at him suspiciously over the top of the blanket. “That’s not a good sentence.”

Sirius ignored the fluttering in his belly at the sound of Remus’s rough, sleepy voice, and said, “This time it is! Pinky promise.”

Remus pulled the blanket down under his chin. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and Sirius could count every freckle. “Pinky promise?”

“Yeah, like––” Sirius grabbed Remus’s hand where it was peeking over the top of the blanket and interlocked their pinkies. “––like this! I super duper promise that it’s a good surprise.”

“I know what a pinky promise is, Pads.” Remus’s voice was the perfect combination of amusement and dry sarcasm, but his cheeks were slowly turning a deeper shade of red as he stared down at their pinkies. Sirius smirked. He held on to Remus’s hand for a moment longer, then dropped it and went to pick up the box from his bed. Remus sat up, and the blanket fell around his waist, and Sirius saw that Remus hadn’t even changed out of his school clothes. As he placed the box on Remus’s bed, Remus yawned and scrubbed his hand through his hair. Sirius nearly swooned.

“What’s in the box?” Remus asked.

“Take a look.” Sirius shot him a mischievous grin, and Remus squinted suspiciously at him, but opened the box and peered inside. He looked up and Sirius, then back down into the box. Then up at Sirius again.

“You didn’t…”

“I would say it looks like I did.”

Maybe it was the exhaustion, but Remus looked like he was about to cry. He reached into the box and pulled out the tiny kitten, with fur just as dark and fluffy as Padfoot’s. She mewed as loudly as she possibly could, and Remus held her to his chest, gently stroking her head with his index finger.

“Where did you get it?”

“Diagon Alley. They said she doesn’t have a name yet, so you get to pick it.”

Remus looked absolutely overwhelmed, and Sirius laughed. “Maybe you can have your nap first, then decide.”

“That might be a good idea,” Remus said softly. The kitten started to purr, a surprisingly loud noise for such a little thing. Without putting the cat down, Remus laid back in the bed. Sirius pulled the blankets up over the two of them, and resisted the urge to kiss the top of Remus’s head. Instead, he tiptoed out of the dorm and locked the door behind him, revelling in the success of Stage One/Two of his plan.


	4. day 3––reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo I sort of messed with the prompt a bit on this one to make it fit; I wouldn't call it a reunion so much as a notable lack of one (yes I did this with several prompts but its surprisingly hard to fit them all into one fic)

“Hey, love, how are you doing today? Enjoy your nap?”

Sirius nearly fell off the couch when he heard Remus’s voice, gentle and sweet, speaking near his ear. He glanced up at Remus, ready to profess his undying love, only to see that Remus was holding the kitten, who had been napping on the back of the couch, and was petting her thoroughly. He glanced up at Sirius.

“Budge over, will you, Pads?”

Sirius rolled his eyes, but sat up to let Remus settle in in the corner where Sirius’s head had been. Before Remus had the chance to put the cat in his lap, Sirius laid back down and put his head across Remus’s legs, grinning up at him as Remus held the cat in the air. After a small, pitiful meow, the cat escaped Remus’s grasp and landed right on Sirius’s face, her little claws extended. It didn’t hurt, exactly, but it did startle him, and he yelled, and the cat hissed, and Remus laughed, and the the cat jumped off of Sirius’s face and onto his chest, where she turned in a circle, then curled up and started purring.

“Awwww, look at that,” Remus said, “She likes you.”

“After scratching my face,” Sirius grumbled. Remus leaned over to inspect Sirius’s face, and their faces were suddenly _so close_ and Sirius couldn’t _breathe_ and there was that blush on Remus’s face again, and Sirius could have sworn his eyes flickered down to Sirius’s lips, but then Remus straightened back up, and cleared his throat.

“Nope, I think you’re all good, Pads. No scratches that I can see.” Was it Sirius’s imagination, or was Remus’s voice oddly high pitched? Sirius thought about testing it with a suggestive comment, but decided against it. He didn’t want to scare Remus off. Instead, he grinned, and thanked him, and then reached up to pet the cat on his chest.

Remus’s heart was pounding so loudly that he was surprised that Sirius couldn’t hear it. He was surprised that the whole common room couldn’t hear it. _He had almost kissed Sirius._ “Almost” being the key word there. But still. It was the closest he’d ever come, and Sirius hadn’t pushed him off, hadn’t seemed disgusted or horrified. And now, he was scratching the kitten’s head as if nothing had happened, but there was still a red tint to his cheeks, and his eyes kept darting up to Remus’s.

Tentatively, Remus trailed his fingers through Sirius’s hair. Sirius shivered.

Then, James burst into the common room.

“Sirius!” he panted, “Your brother’s outside and he wants to talk to you!”

Sirius sat up, and the kitten yowled angrily as she was dislodged from his chest. “What the _fuck_ does my brother want?”

James shrugged. “Dunno, mate. But he really wants to talk to you.”

Sirius looked over at Remus, who was being suspiciously quiet, and seemed more focused on his cat than he should be.

“Remus?” Sirius asked. “Did you know about this?”

“I meant to tell you,” Remus started, but Sirius stood up from the couch and walked up the stairs to the dorms without a second glance. Remus handed the cat to James, who took her gleefully, then ran after Sirius.

“Padfoot!” he shouted. “Sirius!” Louder this time, and the whole common room turned to look. Sirius stopped at the foot of the stairs and turned, arms crossed.

“What?”

“He doesn’t want to fight, Padfoot,” Remus said. “You should talk to him. Really. I think it’ll be good for both of you.”

“Yeah? Then why the _fuck_ didn’t you tell me about it?”

“It wasn’t my idea or anything! I just ran into him the other day.”

“I don’t give a shit, you should have told me––”

“And would your reaction have been any better?” Remus’s shout startled everyone in the common room, including himself. He took a deep breath, straightened his spine, and wiped all emotion from his face. In a calm, measured voice, he said, “You do _not_ need to blame me for this _or_ take out your anger on me, Sirius. I understand that you’re upset about your brother, but it’s not fair to anyone for you to treat people this way, particularly people who are trying to help you.” Remus paused, as if searching for something else to say, but then he turned on his heel and left the common room.

Sirius stood there, frozen, until the silence was broken by a small, insistent _meow_. The kitten was pressing her head up against James’s hand in a bid for attention, and James hastily complied, scooping her up before hurrying across the room to Sirius and taking him by the arm to pull him upstairs.

Behind them, the chatter of the other students started up again.

“You’re going to have to talk to Regulus someday, you know.”

Sirius crossed his arms and stared at a spot above James’s shoulder. “Not if I don’t want to.”

“ _He_ wants to talk to _you_ , Sirius, and I don’t think he’s going to give up easily.”

“Well, then I’ll just keep avoiding him, won’t I?”

“Do you really think that’s going to work in the long term?”

Sirius stayed silent, and James sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll go talk to him. Just, Pads? He’s not a bad person. He’s just around a lot of bad people.”

“I don’t see the difference.”

James put the kitten down on the nearest bed––Peter’s––and went back down the stairs, leaving Sirius alone, shaky, and with tears welling up in his eyes.


	5. day 4––stars

Remus was in the astronomy tower when Sirius found him. He was sitting on a ledge, a little bit too close to the edge for Sirius’s comfort, but he went and leaned up against it beside Remus.

“Hi,” he said. Remus turned his head, and looked at him, and smiled slightly.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry.”

Remus shrugged. “It’s alright. I’m sorry too. I should have told you.”

“And I shouldn’t have been so shitty about it.”

“I think you’re allowed a little shittiness when it comes to Regulus.”

“I shouldn’t take it out on you guys, though. You especially.”

“Especially? What did I do to deserve that?” Remus’s tone was teasing, and he didn’t seem angry at all, but Sirius was determined to apologize properly.

“You’re––you’re really important to me, Remus. Having you as a friend means a lot to me, and I wouldn’t want to lose you just because I was a dick.”

Remus looked up at Sirius in surprise. “Er. Thank you, I suppose.” He paused. “You weren’t, though. A dick, I mean.”

“Remus, you yelled at me. I think I was a bit of a dick.”

Remus laughed. “Okay, maybe a little bit. But I think I was as well.”

“And _I_ think that we could be here all night arguing about who was the dick, so maybe let’s stop the conversation there.” Sirius sat on the ledge next to Remus, feeling lighter than he had all evening. “What are you doing up here?”

“Looking at the stars,” Remus said.

Sirius tilted his head up, following Remus’s gaze. “And how are the stars doing tonight?”

“Very well, thanks for asking.”

Sirius laughed, but his eyes remained fixed on the sky, where the stars were twinkling alongside the crescent moon, and so he missed how Remus turned to look at him, and the soft smile on his face as he took in Sirius’s happiness.


	6. day 5 –– sweaters

Since Remus apparently wasn’t angry about the Regulus incident (anymore), and since the kitten had gone over so well, Sirius decided that it was time for Stage Two/Three of his Seduce Moony Master Plan.

Stage Two/Three involved jumpers. Lots of them. Sirius knew Remus liked jumpers, and he also knew that most of Remus’s jumpers were on the verge of falling apart. He also _also_ knew that although Remus normally refused gifts from his friends that could be perceived as any sort of charity, Remus would never say now to a new jumper.

“Are you sure that’s not a few too many?”

“Peter. There’s no such thing as too many jumpers, _especially_ where Remus is concerned.”

Peter looked more than a little skeptical, but picked up the second stack of jumpers. The top one nearly fell off, and Sirius quickly shifted his own pile to one arm to steady it.

“Don’t you dare drop that.”

“It’s just a jumper, Pads, it won’t matter.”

“It matters to me.”

“Merlin’s balls, you’re picky about this. Fine, I’ll be careful.”

Carrying the massive amount of jumpers through the castle was no easy feat, especially because Sirius wanted to remain undetected. Peter didn’t think it really mattered, but decided that following Sirius’s lead would probably be better for his health and his sanity, so they ducked into alcoves and doorways and broom closets every time they heard footsteps.

Finally, they made it up to the dorms, and somehow, miraculously, neither Remus nor anyone he knew had spotted them. Sirius was very pleased with himself. Peter thought it was pure luck.

Sirius put the jumpers down on his bed, then went over to Remus’s trunk and began to dig through it. He pulled his hand back suddenly as a tiny paw reached out and swiped at him, then he scooped the kitten out of the trunk and deposited her on Remus’s bed. She hissed, and Sirius stuck out his tongue at her, and then he went back to the trunk.

“What are you doing?” Peter asked.

“Getting rid of all his old jumpers. Come help me out, Wormy.”

“Are you sure you should do that? He’s quite attached to them.”

Sirius waved a hand dismissively. “I know which ones are his favourites, don’t worry about it.”

Peter sighed, and went over to help Sirius.

Finally, there were only three of Remus’s old jumpers left in his trunk: one, a bright spring green with brown elbow patches, the second, a thick, handmade reddish brown one with sleeves so long that only the tips of his fingers poked out, and the third, grey and stretched out and absolutely enormous, the one Remus wore after full moons.

Peter was ready to stop there, but Sirius marched right on over to his bed and started packing Remus’s trunk with the new jumpers. Peter sighed, and fell backwards onto Remus’s bed, stretching out and closing his eyes. He could feel Sirius’s glare on him, but the only move he made was to flip up his middle finger in Sirius’s general direction. Sirius sighed loudly, but didn’t press him to help anymore.

It was at least ten minutes before Sirius proudly announced, “All finished. Now let’s get out of here before he comes up.”

Peter cracked open an eye. “You can go. I’ll stay here.”

“Wormy! You were part of this!”

“He doesn’t know that.” Peter closed his eyes again and didn’t move until he heard Sirius leave the room, closing the door behind him. The room was silent except for the kitten’s purring. Opening his eyes, Peter reached out and gently stroked the kitten’s head. The purring grew louder, and the kitten pressed her head up into Peter’s hand. He grinned as she rolled onto her back to let him pet her belly. Maybe Sirius’s gifts weren’t all bad.

~~~

“Sirius?”

“Mhm?”

“Have you got any idea where my jumpers all disappeared to?”

Sirius blinked at Remus in what was, in his opinion, an excellent impression of complete befuddlement. “Shouldn’t they be in your trunk?”

“You would think so, wouldn’t you?” Remus crossed his arms. Sirius sat up from where he was stretched out on top of his bed.

“Are they not there?”

“ _No_ , Sirius, they aren’t.”

“Why do you sound like you’re blaming me?”

“You’re the only person that would not only steal all my jumpers, but also _leave new ones_ and, of all things, a _note_.”

“There’s so much to unpack there.”

Remus frowned. “I...don’t know if I should take that as a joke or not.”

“Do with it what you will, Moony,” Sirius winked and leaned back onto his bed.

“Wait––” With uncharacteristic enthusiasm, Remus jumped onto Sirius’s bed, then sat down with his legs crossed. His knee was poking Sirius in the ribs. “I won’t let you distract me.”

“From what, my darling?”

Remus didn’t answer for a moment, and when Sirius glanced over, he saw that Remus’s face had gone completely red, and his mouth hung open slightly. When he caught Sirius watching, he shut his mouth firmly and glared, but the blush didn’t fade at all.

“From finding out where the fuck you put my jumpers.”

“Again, I don’t know why you would assume I did anything.”

“The note was signed with a pawprint.”

“Okay, so _maybe_ it was me.”

“Ha! I knew it! Where are my jumpers?”

“In your trunk!”

Remus crossed his arms. “I mean my _old_ jumpers, Sirius, not the ones you got me.”

“Do you not like the ones I got you?” Sirius asked, concerned. “Because I can get you other ones if you want, it’s no big––”

Remus slapped his hand over Sirius’s mouth. “You’re _not_ allowed to say it’s not a big deal Pads, those must have cost you so much money.”

Sirius licked Remus’s palm. Remus pulled his hand away and wiped it on Sirius’s arm, and Sirius made a face.

“This is your fault. You’re the one that licked me.”

Sirius avoided the topic entirely by saying, “Those jumpers were absolutely worth it, Moony, _and_ I even left your favourites.”

“That’s not the point!”

“I can’t say I expected you to fight me so much over a few jumpers.”

“It’s more than a few.”

“So? It’s not like I can’t afford it, and I _want_ to get them for you, Moony. I always want to get you things.”

“Sirius…” Remus looked pained, but Sirius could tell that he was close to giving in.

“You were due for a wardrobe change anyway. These are all way nicer than your old ones, and we’ve already sent the old ones off to a muggle thrift shop, so it’s not like you have much choice.”

“We?”

Sirius froze. “Did I say we? I meant I.”

“Padfoot,” Remus leaned forward until he was almost on top of Sirius. “Who else was in on this?”

“Erm.” Sirius found he couldn’t think with Remus this close, and his eyes involuntarily flicked down to Remus’s lips. When he met Remus’s eyes again, there was something familiar there, a look Sirius had seen countless times before but had never entirely known what it meant.

The next thing he knew, Remus’s lips were on his, and his brain felt like it was short circuiting.


	7. day 6––dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so I messed around with the prompt on this one a bit as well, but,,,,,,,,,,, we'll say that all his DREAMS came true???

Sirius was lost in the feeling of _Remus_. Remus on the bed next to him, Remus kneeling over him, Remus _kissing him_. It was the best feeling in the world and then, suddenly, it was gone. Sirius sat up, watching as Remus turned away. He sat on the very edge of the bed, his back to Sirius and his shoulders hunched. Sirius knew he was pulling the sleeves of his jumper over his hands and tugging on the fraying ends. He wanted to take Remus’s anxious hands and hold them tightly, warm them up and calm them down.

“I’m sorry,” Remus whispered.

Sirius blinked. “What are you sorry for?”

“I––I didn’t mean to––or, I did, but––”

Sirius reached out and, very gently, touched Remus’s back. “Don’t be sorry.”

Remus turned slightly, just enough that he could see Sirius out of the corner of his eye. “What do you mean?”

“I mean––I wanted you to do that. And I’d love it if you did it again?” Sirius winced. He hadn’t meant for that to sound like a question. “I would,” he repeated more firmly.

Remus twisted around fully. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Oh.” Remus smiled at him, a bright, impossibly big smile that Sirius swore lit up the whole room. Sirius grinned back. Remus brought his legs back up onto the bed, and lifted his hand to Sirius’s face. His thumb gently stroked Sirius’s cheekbone for a moment before he leaned forward and brushed his lips against Sirius’s.

“Not entirely what I meant,” Sirius murmured, and he wrapped his arms around Remus’s shoulders and pulled him in.

~~~

Late at night, Sirius lay awake, staring up at the ceiling and grinning like an idiot. _Remus had kissed him_. He still couldn’t quite believe it.

“Sirius!” A soft whisper cut through the dark room, and Sirius’s bed curtains parted, revealing a chilly looking Remus.

“Hi,” he whispered.

Remus smiled. “Hey.” He slipped under the blanket and cuddled up next to Sirius.

“Merlin, Moony, you’re freezing.”

“It’s fucking cold outside. I think it’s going to snow tonight.” Remus tucked his hands into the crook of Sirius’s neck, and Sirius yelped, nearly falling out of bed as he tried to get away. Remus laughed as Sirius scrambled to stop himself from falling onto the cold stone floor, and Sirius, once he was back on the bed, glared at Remus.

“I thought this was going to be romantic.”

“Did you now?”

“Mhm. But apparently you just wanted me for my warmth.”

“Can I be here for romance _and_ warmth?”

Sirius immediately slid closer to Remus. “Of course.”

Remus laughed, and then he too slid closer, so that their noses were almost touching. One hand rested gently on Sirius’s waist, _above_ his shirt, thank Merlin, and the other wiggled itself underneath Sirius’s body. Sirius scrunched up his face at the feeling of the cold hand pressing against his ribs––yes, still over the shirt, but it didn’t help _that_ much––but because it was Remus, he was enjoying it far too much to move. Remus grinned and kissed him, a quick, gentle one.

Sirius was giddy. _Giddy_. Remus had kissed him, so casually and sweetly, and he didn’t care even a little bit about the cold hands because this was altogether too wonderful for him to even register the chill. So he kissed Remus. And then Remus kissed him again, and then they kept going back and forth until it didn’t really count as separate kisses anymore.

When they paused to catch their breath, Remus laughed a little. “You look like you’re about to fall asleep.”

“I am very sleepy.” Sirius smiled as he looked at Remus through half closed eyes.

“I should probably go then. Let you sleep.”

“No…”

“Pads, we can’t stay up all night.”

“We totally can.”

“We have classes tomorrow.”

“Stay here though?”

“What about James and Peter?”

“What about them?”

Remus laughed a little, then got out of Sirius’s bed. “Goodnight, Pads,” he whispered, and he kissed Sirius’s forehead and went softly back to his own bed.


	8. day 7––baking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my amazingly talented friend did some are for this chapter! It'll be up on her [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/wolfstars_/) later today, as well as on her [tumblr](https://girlwithacrown.tumblr.com), and I'll update the notes with a link to the art as soon as it's posted! :D
> 
> edit: [here's the art!!](https://www.instagram.com/p/CIvaCBQgaIt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)

Remus had been right. It _did_ snow that night, and by morning Hogwarts was blanketed in a thick, fluffy layer of the stuff. It made the decorations in the hallways feel festive rather than aspirational, and the Marauders woke up late in the morning to the sounds of students already outside.

The four boys wasted no time in rushing out of the castle, pausing only to eat a quick breakfast before they, too, were outside, shouting and running through the snow. James took a handful of it and hurled it at Sirius, who shouted and tackled James to the ground. Remus and Peter exchanged a look, then immediately started building up a sturdy wall of snow against the castle wall. They would need protection and a strategic location if they were to have any chance of winning against James and Sirius.

By the time the other two were finished fighting, Remus and Peter’s wall almost reached Remus’s chin, and he had to duck down to avoid a snowball that came flying at his head. He popped back up to stick out his tongue at Sirius, and was rewarded with a snowball to the face. He flipped Sirius off, and Sirius grinned angelically and fluttered his eyelashes.

“Fucking bastard’s too attractive for his own good,” Remus mumbled to himself.

“What was that?” Remus jumped at the sound of Peter’s voice.

“Er, nothing. I was just wondering how long it's going to take before they break down this bloody wall.” _Nice save, Lupin, nice save_.

Peter grinned and patted his pile of snowballs. “Never, if I have anything to do with it.”

“What would I do without you, Pete?”

“Get absolutely destroyed in snowball fights.”

~~~

All Remus wanted to do was sit in his armchair in front of the fireplace and read his book. That was _it_. He had come back from the snowball fight soaked and exhausted, but victorious, and he wanted to bask in that by relaxing and warming up.

But then Sirius decided he wanted cookies, and he wanted Remus to come with him to get the cookies, and how could Remus say no when Sirius, after making sure no one was watching, had leaned down and kissed him? It was impossible.

So Remus was in the kitchen, wearing an apron, and Sirius was next to him, wearing a matching one, and the house elves were teaching them to make sugar cookies.

“Moony, look!” Sirius held up a cookie cutter. “This one’s shaped like a Christmas tree!”

Remus grinned. “We’ll decorate it to look like one of the ones in the Great Hall!” As much as he had protested, Remus was not entirely there against his will.

Sirius’s eyes widened and he bounced slightly on the spot. “Only if I get to decorate them like all the trees in the Great Hall.”

“Oh, absolutely.” Remus sprinkled some flour on the table and started rolling out the cookie dough. “And I’ll decorate the gingerbread men like all the professors.”

“Moony,” Sirius said very solemnly, “you’re an absolute genius and I adore you.”

Remus nearly dropped the rolling pin. “O–oh?”

“Did I not make that clear?” Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus’s waist from behind. His chin fit perfectly on Remus’s shoulder. “Or was snogging you for half the night not clear enough?” He turned his head to kiss Remus’s neck, and Remus shivered. He carefully put the rolling pin down.

“Well… _adoration_ might be a bit much.”

Sirius shook his head. “Nope! Adoration is perfect.” He stretched up on his tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Remus’s cheek.

Remus turned his head to look at Sirius. “I adore you too, Pads.”

Sirius grinned, absolutely delighted at this turn of events, and turned Remus so that they were facing each other. Remus’s smile was very obviously hiding an even bigger one underneath, and Sirius kissed him, hoping to bring out that hidden smile. Remus’s hands moved from the counter behind him to Sirius’s back, and they stayed there for a while, exchanging soft, sweet kisses and smiles.

Eventually, the sounds of a house elf walking past interrupted them, and they watched as the elf went on to the door, completely ignoring the two boys. Sirius looked back at Remus at the same time that Remus looked back at him, and they both collapsed into giggles.

“House elves don’t gossip much, do they?” Sirius asked through his laughter.

“Nah, I don’t think they tell the students much of anything, we’re fine,” Remus said, his grin pressed into Sirius’s hair. “Should we maybe finish the cookies?”

“Mm, yeah, maybe we should do that.” Sirius stretched up for one more kiss, then moved to the other side of the counter to continue sorting through the cookie cutters.

~~~

“Are those cookies I smell?” James greeted them at the door of their dorm room without so much as a hello, and snatched the cookie tins out of their hands. The kitten, woken up by the noise, leapt off of Remus’s bed and trotted over to see what was happening.

“These are festive,” James said as he examined the winter scenes on the tins.

“We thought it would be fitting,” Remus told him.

James nodded his approval and passed one of the tins to Peter as he began to open the other. Barely looking at the decorations, James picked one up and took a bite. “These are magnificent, lads!”

Sirius winced at the spray of crumbs. “I can’t believe you would pay such little attention to our marvellous decorations.”

“Whoops.” James didn’t sound all that upset. He took another bite of the cookie. At his feet, the kitten mewed as loudly as she could, and James stooped to pick her up, holding the cookie between his teeth as he balanced her on top of the cookie tin. She crawled up his arm and settled on his shoulder.

“Um.” Peter held up a cookie from his tin. “Is this supposed to be Dumbledore?”

Remus grinned. “Sure is!”

“I was afraid of that.” Peter frowned down at the cookie. “I’m not sure I really want to know the answer, but––why is he wearing fishnet tights?”

“Ah,” Remus said, and Sirius covered up his laugh with a cough. “Pete, Jamie, allow me the honour of introducing you to…” Remus paused for effect. It was becoming physically painful for Sirius to stop himself from laughing. “Sexy Dumbledore!”

Sirius burst into laughter, Remus looked incredibly pleased with himself, and James and Peter both looked like they wanted to cry. The kitten curled up on James’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

“I can’t––I can’t eat this,” Peter said. He gingerly placed the cookie back in the tin and picked up another. “This isn’t sexy Flitwick, is it?”

“Are you insinuating that Flitwick isn’t normally a hot piece of ass?” Sirius asked. Remus’s shoulders shook with laughter.

“I’m––oh Merlin.” Peter put the cookie tin on the edge of James’s bed. “I can’t eat any of these now. Do you want them, Prongs?” He looked hopefully over at James, who shook his head vehemently.

“Nope, I don’t want to think about how sexy our professors may or may not be while we’re eating them. Want a tree, Pete?”

“Yes, please.” Peter took the offered tree, relieved, and Sirius snatched up the second cookie tin and held it out to Remus.

“Want a sexy Dumbledore?”

“Er, I think I’ll just take a Flitwick. Sexy Dumbledore might be a bit much.”

“How dare you, Moony? Sexy Dumbledore is _perfect_.”

“Oh, of course he is, but not for eating.”

“Hmmm.” Sirius examined the sexy Dumbledore cookie. “You’re right, we’ll have to find something else to do with him. I’ll take a McGonagall.”

“Good choice.”

“She’s very tasty.”

“We did do a good job, didn’t we?”

“Moony and Padfoot, cookie bakers extraordinaire. We should open a bakery.”

“I don’t think––”

Sirius held a finger up to Remus’s lips. “Nope, we’re opening a bakery, no arguments allowed.”

Remus laughed. “Sounds good, Pads.”

“It does, doesn’t it?”

James came crashing into Sirius, whose only warning was the yowling of the kitten as she was dislodged from James’s shoulder. James wrapped his arms around his friend’s shoulders and spoke right in his ear. “What’s this I hear about a bakery?”

“Fuck off, Prongs, I think you got cookie in my ear!”

“I did not!”

“Yes you did, you git, I felt it!”

“Oh, fuck off, Pads, I did _not_.”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Guys!” Peter broke in, waving a cookie in the air. “Let’s not get into a fight, we’re just here to eat cookies. Right, Remus?”

“Right, Peter.”

“Right.” Peter nodded, then held out the cookie tin in offering. “Non-sexy tree, anyone? No, Sirius, you’re _not_ allowed to joke about it, and that’s final.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next prompt is for dec fifteenth, and I won't be posting a chapter for that one bc I couldn't come up with a way to fit "rom com" into this story lmao. so the next chapter will be up on thursday, dec 17!


	9. day 8––nature

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *slaps roof of chapter* this bad boy can fit so much plot in it

Remus watched out of the corner of his eye as Sirius’s scarf came loose from around his neck and flapped in the wind. Sirius shivered, and tried to tuck it back into place, but without any luck. Remus quickly glanced around to make sure that no one was nearby, then paused and rewrapped Sirius’s scarf for him, spending just a little bit longer than was strictly necessary as he tied the ends together. Sirius laughed, and the wind blew tendrils of his hair into their faces. Remus frowned. He reached up and pulled Sirius’s hat down further onto his head, then took his hand as they continued walking.

They circled the Black Lake, and when they were on the far side, almost hidden by the trees, Sirius pulled Remus down to sit on a rock at the edge of the lake.

It was a beautiful view. The lake was frozen over, and on the other side, the figures of students skating were just visible. Closer to where Remus and Sirius were, the snow hadn’t been disturbed, and lay in a soft white blanket across the ice. Around them, the tree branches bowed slightly under snow’s weight, and their footprints were the only ones nearby. Remus scooted a little bit closer to Sirius. Although he was wearing two of the jumpers Sirius had given him, as well as his coat and several layers of mittens and scarves, he was still cold.

Sirius wrapped an arm around Remus’s shoulder, and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Remus grinned and turned his head to kiss Sirius's nose.

“You’re adorable in that hat,” Remus said softly. Sirius grinned.

“This old thing? Really?”

“You know it’s true.” Remus laughed at Sirius’s show of offence.

“But then why would you tell me?”

“I suppose because I can.” And because he could, Remus leaned in for another kiss. Sirius smiled, and returned the kiss, and they sat quietly, trading kisses and whispers and giggles.

And then, with no warning, Sirius straightened up and moved away from Remus.

“Sirius, what––oh.”

Regulus emerged from the trees. He looked flushed and breathless, so Remus was fairly sure that he had just arrived, and hadn’t seen anything. Sirius must have heard him.

“I’ll just, erm, let you two talk, shall I?”

Sirius looked up at him, wide-eyed. “What? No, Remus, stay. Please?”

“Nah, I think this’ll go better without me.” Remus gave Sirius a tight smile and walked into the trees away from Sirius and Regulus. Sirius turned to his brother and glared.

“What the _fuck_ do you want?”

“Just to talk.”

“Have I not made it clear that I don’t want to talk to you?”

“You haven’t even given me a chance.”

“Because all you’re going to do is report back to our parents.”

“I won’t.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because that makes me trust you so fucking much.”

“Sirius, _please_. Just listen? At least? It can’t hurt to listen to what I have to say.”

Sirius studied Regulus. He seemed sincere, and he had never been a good liar. Not to Sirius, anyway.

“Fine. But I can’t promise anything more than listening.”

Regulus nodded. He took a deep breath, and paced back and forth across the snow as he began to speak.

“I fucked up.”

“No shit.”

Regulus shot Sirius a vicious glare, and Sirius mimed zipping his mouth shut.

“I fucked up,” Regulus started again, “and I wanted to apologize, because, well.” He cleared his throat. “You sort of took the brunt of me fucking up.”

Sirius didn’t say anything. Regulus twisted his fingers together as he continued.

“So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for taking our parent’s side in this, and for not helping you, and for not fucking _listening_ to you, and….fuck.” Regulus kicked at the snow as he blinked furiously. “I––fuck, I wasn’t supposed to––” He cleared his throat and swiped at his eyes. Sirius didn’t comment. Regulus stated his pacing again, and continued. “I should have paid more attention. I have been, ever since you left. And you were right. Of course you were right. I should have seen it before, I should have done something––”

“Regulus,” Sirius cut in, “what could you have done? Nothing would have stopped me from leaving. I needed to get out of there, and I wanted to take you with me, but,” he trailed off and ended his sentence with a shrug. Regulus nodded.

“I wouldn’t have gone,” he said. “I would have told them that you were leaving.”

Sirius nodded. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

They were silent for a moment, just staring at each other, before Sirius asked, “What made you change your mind?”

Regulus swallowed. “When you left. When they found out you left. You know that they burned you off the tapestry?” Sirius nodded. “It was me. They made me do it, because apparently they thought it would really drive the point home that I didn’t have a fucking brother anymore.” A tear slipped down Regulus’s cheek, and he wiped it away angrily. “And––and even when we were fighting, even when I didn’t agree with you about them, I––I always loved you, Sirius. And I’ve missed you.” He sniffed, and wiped away another tear, and suddenly all Sirius could see was his baby brother, who he’d spent his childhood taking care of, and who was maybe, finally, back.

“Come here, Reg,” he said, and Regulus sat hesitantly on the rock. “I’m going to hug you,” Sirius warned, and before Regulus could say anything, Sirius wrapped his arms around his brother and squeezed him as tightly as he possibly could. Regulus wrapped his own arms around Sirius, and they stayed like that for several long seconds, before Regulus carefully worked his way out of the hug.

“So, you don’t hate me?”

Sirius shook his head. “No. I––I might need some time to––to get used to this, I suppose, but I don’t hate you.”

Regulus smiled. “Thank you,” he said, “for listening. It means a lot.”

Sirius patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll try to be a better brother than I have been.”

“Me too.” Regulus glanced up at the darkening sky. “Should we get back to the castle?”

“Fuck!”

“What?”

“I need to find Remus. You go on without me, okay? I’ll see you back at school?”

“Yeah, sure. You don’t need help with Remus?”

“No, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. I’ll see you at school.”

“See you.”

~~~

Sirius trudged through the snow, barely able to see in the dark and surrounded by trees. “Remus?” he called out. “Moony, where are you?” There was no answer.

Sirius tripped over a branch, and just barely avoided falling by flailing around and grabbing hold of a tree branch. He stood still for several seconds, then turned into Padfoot. Much better. He sniffed at the ground, and listened intently, then trotted off through the trees.

It didn’t take him long to find Remus’s scent, and then to find Remus himself, sitting at the base of a tree where the snow hadn’t managed to reach. His knees were pulled up to his chest, and his cheeks and nose were red from the cold. Padfoot bounded up to him happily, nuzzling his face and licking his cheek, and Remus reached out and patted the dog’s head.

“Hey, Pads,” he whispered. Padfoot sat down next to Remus, then turned into Sirius.

“Hey, Moony!”

Remus glanced over at him. “How was Regulus?”

“He seemed...okay, I suppose.” Sirius shrugged. “He wanted to apologize.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in his own thoughts, until Remus stood and began to walk away.

“Wait for me!” Sirius scrambled to his feet, brushing the snow off of his trousers, and ran after Remus. He caught up with him, and threw an arm around his shoulders. Remus shrugged it off and sped up.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Remus.”

“Sirius.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Sirius grabbed Remus by the wrist and tugged. Remus stumbled and finally stopped walking. He turned to face Sirius. “I’m _fine_.”

“You’re not fucking fine!”

“I am, and if you don’t believe me, I don’t know what to tell you.” Remus pulled his wrist out from Sirius’s grip, and stormed off through the trees, leaving Sirius alone, cold, and confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> on today's episode of dan fucking with the prompts: the next prompt, for December 19, is nostalgia. the one after that, for dec 21, is hug. however, as I was writing the nostalgia chapter, it very much turned into a hug chapter, so here's what's gonna happen: on dec 19, which is supposed to be nostalgia, I will be posting for the prompt hug. on the 21, I'll be posting for the prompt nostalgia.


	10. day 9––hug

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo this chapter is the beginning of "dan fucks with the prompts bc they feel like it"! the prompt for today was nostalgia, but when I was writing this chapter it accidentally very much became about hugs, so,,,,,,, yeah. on Monday ill be posting the chapter for the nostalgia prompt!

“What the fuck happened yesterday?”

“Shut up, James.”

“I will not.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Really? Because you and Remus suddenly aren’t talking to each other.”

“It’s _nothing_.” Sirius glared at James, who crossed his arms and met Sirius’s eyes with a level stare.

“I don’t think it is.”

“It’s none of your fucking buisness.”

James didn’t move, so Sirius stood and left the common room, making as much noise as possible on the stairs up to the dorms. He could feel James’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care as he slammed the door behind him and threw himself face down onto his bed. He didn’t want to have to deal with James’s questions about whatever the fuck was going on with Remus, becasue Sirius himself didn’t know what was going on with Remus. All he knew was that Remus had barely looked at him since the night before, and it was fucking killing him.

The door to the dorm opened, and Sirius groaned. “James, I swear to _fuck_ , if you’re in here just to bother me again––”

“Not James.”

Sirius sat bolt upright at the sound of Remus’s voice. “Moony! Hi.”

“Hi.” Remus didn’t look at him. Sirius wanted Remus to look at him.

“Remus?”

“Mhm?”

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Remus…”

“When I tell you it’s nothing, I really do mean that it’s nothing, Sirius.”

“Mm, yeah, because after a week of hanging off of me at every possible moment, suddenly not being able to make eye contact is nothing.”

Remus glared ferociously at the floor. “It’s _nothing_.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Believe whatever you want, Sirius, but that doesn’t make it true.”

“What is it that you’re so determined not to tell me?”

Remus’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

“What? Is it something you’re ashamed of?”

“ _I’m_ not ashamed of anything.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m sure you can work it out for yourself.”

“Wh––are you trying to say that _I’m_ ashamed of _you_?”

Remus’s eyes flicked up to Sirius’s for an instant, and Sirius knew he was right.

“Why the fuck would I be ashamed of you?”

“I don’t know, but it was the only explanation for how you reacted yesterday!”

Sirius frowned. “Yesterday?”

“Yes, yesterday, when your brother came to talk and you fucking pushed me away!”

“I––what?”

“As soon as he showed up, you––you acted like nothing was happening!”

Sirius opened his mouth, but couldn’t think of anything to say. Remus, unfortunately, took his silence as confirmation.

“I’m an idiot.”

“What? No, you’re not, Moony, you’re not, I––”

“I really thought that maybe you actually––fuck!” Remus tugged on the sleeve of his jumper. “I thought you actually wanted to be with me.”

“Of course I do!”

“Then why was that your reaction to Regulus showing up? Why haven’t you so much as suggested we tell James and Pete?”

Sirius stood up and walked over to Remus, carefully taking his hands. “I didn’t know you wanted to tell James and Pete.”

“Of course I wanted to.”

“Why didn’t you say something, then?”

Remus shrugged. “I suppose I was scared,” he mumbled.

“Scared of what?”

“That maybe you wouldn’t want to? It’s stupid.” Remus tried to pull his hands away, but Sirius held on tight.

“It’s not stupid, love. Of course you were scared. But I do. Want to tell James and Pete, that is. Actually, erm––” Sirius laughed sheepishly. “––they already knew I fancied you. And they knew I was trying to get you to date me. So it won’t come as that much of a shock.”

Remus laughed incredulously. “Really? They knew?”

“Yeah, Pete helped me with the jumpers.”

“I knew you had help! I knew it! Wait, who helped you with the kitten?”

“Marlene.”

Remus looked thoughtful. “You know, she was giving us an odd look a few days ago.”

Sirius groaned and dropped his head onto Remus’s shoulder. “Oh Merlin, she must have figured it out. She wouldn’t have told anyone, though.”

Remus let go of Sirius’s hands, but it was only so that he could wrap his arms around Sirius as he kissed the top of his head. “That’s okay. I’m sure she’s been loving being the only person with that information. And,” Remus added, laughing a bit, “I think the cat likes her more than me.”

Sirius laughed into Remus’s neck. “At least the kitten’s getting taken care of?” He tightened his arms around Remus’s waist, then quickly loosened them again when Remus hissed in pain. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just the moon’s coming up.” Remus shrugged. “Don’t stop hugging me, though.”

“You should take a nap.”

“Will you nap with me?”

“Sure.” Sirius kissed Remus’s neck, then stepped away and pulled him over to Sirius’s bed. They curled up under the covers, and Remus tucked his face into Sirius’s chest. When he spoke, his voice was muffled.

“We’re boyfriends, right?”

“Fuck yeah, we’re boyfriends.”

“Good.”

“Remus?”

“Mhm?”

“The reason I pushed you away when Reg was there––”

“You thought he’d tell you parents. I know that, but…” Remus trailed off and lifted his head to look at Sirius properly before continuing. “I was being stupid and irrational.”

“No, you weren’t. We should have talked about this before. You’re not allowed to blame yourself, okay?” Silence. “Remus?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Good.” Sirius kissed him, and Remus returned the kiss sleepily before burrowing back into Sirius’s chest.

**Author's Note:**

> drop in and say hi on [tumblr](https://dduucckk.tumblr.com)! :D


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